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Monday, May 16, 2016

Reasons not to believe every word that comes out of your child's mouth

I don't think my children are liars, but I do think they are children, and children have been known to....

*get things wrong
*misconstrue things that were said in a way they weren't meant
*listen to things that weren't being said to them and think they were being spoken to
*see things from a child's perspective

A case in point:

G had told me that his friend at school was moving to California and that this child's father is in prison. The mom and I don't know each other well, other than from texting each other to try to figure out days/times for a playdate. Today, while on a field trip, I asked if her weekends had calmed down a bit or if she was still super busy. She said they were going to be moving soon to Colorado. She then told me that they knew they would only be here for a year because they are military, and her husband is in Korea.

Not prison, apparently. Not California, apparently.

Now was this a case of her son telling fibs? Maybe.
Or maybe it was a case of my son not listening.....or getting this child confused with another child.....or just plain making up sh*t. I don't know, but I'm glad I didn't give too much credence to G's story about his buddy.

When N came home from school earlier this year and told me they'd announced via intercom the students who'd been accepted to all-county orchestra and that she was one of them, I went "Yeah! Awesome!" on the outside. On the inside, I was like, "Well..... I'll just wait until I get confirmation from her orchestra teacher before I really believe it."

I don't think N was lying at all, but I needed confirmation by someone who is more "in the know." Someone who didn't have to listen to announcements over the rattle and hum of other 11- and 12-year-olds at 2:18 in the afternoon.

I can think back to my own perception of the world when I was a kid and how totally wrong I got things. Kids are just like that.

Like my own parents, I don't take what my kids say at face value. I tend to suspend judgment until I have considerably more information from a variety of parties.

Because I don't want to look like a dumb-a$$ asking about so-and-so's good behavior and parole.

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About Me

I am a mom of three diagnosed with OCD and GAD during my 2004-2005 postpartum period, although I very likely have been dealing with both since about age 10. They didn't disorder my life enough to require meds and therapy until after I became a mom.